To Bid Farewell To A Poet Poem by Rati Saxena

(Translated by Shelly Bhoil)

I do not like writing poetry on death and tragedy
especially when the stench of those accidents still lingers
but what can be a better gift than poetry
to bid farewell to a poet
especially when that poet holds the capacity
to go through poems in languages from around the world
and after having picked up nuances of various languages
he'd settled down with his native tongue
that poet who, despite being cognizant of the truth, meets the
world with affection
that poet who, despite having culled all wise thoughts, can be
amused like a child
they say that when a tree is felled
all those beings, for whom it is earth, become homeless
when a poet in whom the world languages converge
whose wealth contains the knowledge of the world
when he is cut off
everything that the world had amassed falls apart
Just like a tree is both the earth and the sky
a ruminative poet is a universe unto himself
What may I say to the thief who, for a little money,
crushed the moment that was in the process of becoming history
what may I say to the fool who destroyed the treasure of
words in exchange for paltry coins
‘How to cut a Jackfruit' and Other Poems • 21
Had the poet survived, he would have sided with the thief
for the poor fellow must have been penniless
or perhaps someone at his home was ill
I have nothing to say to the poet too
not even a goodbye
except that your casket must be left a little open
so that you can be embodied in the voice of your pupils
so that they may bring from beyond the voice of their ancestors
Poet! you can't rest so soon
you still have a long way to go
no farewell for you; till date, your memory means the sky to us

(Remembering Enrique Alberto Servín Herrem, the Mexican Poet)